Impact of urinary incontinence on physical performance and quality of life (QOL) amongst a group of elderly in Cairo.

Objectives: Urinary incontinence (UI), involuntary loss of urine, is a common disorder affecting the elderly population worldwide. UI can be associated with poor quality of life (QOL) in this vulnerable population, as it limits both physical and social activities of daily living (ADLs). Additionally, it has a psychological and economic burden on individuals, healthcare services and society. This study was conducted to measure the frequency of UI amongst the elderly and determine its impact on the overall QOL, physical performance, and ADLs.

Participants And Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in four primary healthcare centres in El-Obour City. Data collection was performed weekly on randomly chosen days. All elderly individuals aged 60 or above, who attended the centres on those days, were included.

Results: The overall frequency of UI was 38% amongst the population under study. UI ranged from mild (12.3%) to moderate (57.9%) to severe (29.8%). Amongst incontinent participants, the frequency of UI was 47.4% in men and 52.6% in women. The frequency of stress, urge, mixed and other types of UI were 7%, 33.3%, 40.4% and 19.3%, respectively. Incontinent elderly had significantly lower QOL regarding mental and physical indices than their continental counterparts. UI severity was inversely related to physical performance.

Conclusion: UI has a high prevalence rate amongst elderly individuals and significantly affects all aspects of QOL, especially physical performance.